Su Xiaobai's grin widened as he stepped onto the first floating stone, a twinkle in his eye that was far too smug for the occasion.
"Let this Daddy show you all how it's done!"
The moment his foot touched the surface, the water beneath rippled violently, as if it too felt the need to acknowledge his grandeur.
His shadow began to rise from the clear pond, dark and twisted, but still doing its best to strike a pose that matched his—although it seemed a bit less enthusiastic about it.
Unlike the other disciples, Su Xiaobai had no patience for slow, graceful combat. The rules? Pfft. Conserving energy? Nah. This wasn't going to be a methodical test of endurance. He was here to make a statement.
"Let's see you keep up," he muttered under his breath, eyes gleaming with far too much confidence.
Without warning—BOOM!—his Qi exploded outward. A massive shockwave reverberated through the chamber. Lightning snapped viciously from his fingertips, the air splitting with CRACKS, while Wind Qi swirled beneath him, lifting him off the stones with the ease of a feather caught in a storm.
And, just for some heat, Infernal Flames ignited around his body, roaring like a bonfire someone clearly forgot to extinguish.
The other disciples, still grappling with their own shadows, froze in place, faces pale. Liu Zhenhai's eyes bulged. "What the—he's using all elements at once?"
Fatty Zhou, barely keeping his balance, shouted, "Is he nuts?! He'll burn through his Qi in seconds!"
But Su Xiaobai wasn't listening to their sensible concerns. His focus was locked on his shadow, which had bravely (or foolishly) materialized in front of him, trying to keep up with his over-the-top display.
The poor thing was flickering, struggling to imitate his power like a lazy student who forgot to study for a big exam.
Su Xiaobai's smirk widened.
And then—CRACK!—he sent a bolt of lightning straight at the shadow. It flailed, moving a bit too slowly, and took the hit right to the chest.
The shadow staggered back, sizzling like a piece of meat left too long on the grill.
Su Xiaobai wasn't one to wait around.
Swoosh!
With a swift gust of Wind Qi, he darted forward, barely touching the stones as the Infernal Flames around him flared even brighter, scorching the air with a hiss.
The water beneath him steamed angrily, as if offended by the sexiness of his flames.
Lan Meiyu, momentarily distracted by Su Xiaobai's theatrics, took a punch to the face from her own shadow. "He's… not even giving it a chance!" she yelled, rubbing her jaw.
With a casual yet devastating punch, Su Xiaobai's flame-covered fist collided with his shadow's chest, sending it flying with a satisfying BANG! into the pond.
The water erupted into a cloud of steam, and for a moment, it looked like the shadow might actually drown.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Not done with his one-man show, Su Xiaobai raised a hand, summoning a vortex of Wind and Flame that spiraled into a cyclone of destruction.
The shadow, still valiantly trying to imitate him, flailed about, its energy now completely in shambles.
Su Xiaobai snickered. "You can't copy what you can't handle."
BOOM! The vortex crashed into the shadow, engulfing it in flames and steam. The poor thing didn't stand a chance, dissolving into nothing as the chamber itself trembled.
Wang Fei, speechless, could only mutter, "He obliterated it…"
Lan Meiyu, now nursing a bruised ego along with her jaw, growled, "H-He is just showing off…!"
With a final flourish, Su Xiaobai leapt toward the altar in the center of the pond, carried by the Wind Qi like an exit cue.
He landed with a soft tap, his hand reaching out to claim victory as he brushed the altar's glowing surface.
Standing tall, his flames finally dimming, Su Xiaobai didn't bother looking back at the struggling disciples. Why would he? He'd already won.
'Let them catch up,' he thought, lips curling into a satisfied smirk. "Daddy's already at the top."
The disciples of the Xiantian Sect had long noticed Su Xiaobai—how could they not?
Breakthroughs always release vast powerful energy, drawing attention with excessive Qi fluctuations and flashy, over-the-top movements.
But beneath all that, everyone knew the truth: Su Xiaobai was the weakest among them.
Even the sect's most average disciples could overpower him on a good day.
Yet here he was, standing victorious, casually brushing off a trial that was giving even the strongest among them a hard time.
The proud disciples of the prestigious Xiantian Sect, overshadowed by a mere nobody?
The thought disgusted them, and several groaned inwardly, refusing to believe what they were seeing.
Xiao Yu, however, wasn't one to dwell on shock for long.
He gritted his teeth and followed Su Xiaobai's lead, copying his method. With fierce determination, he overpowered his shadow, striking it down with a burst of Qi.
"If 'he' can do it, then so can I," He muttered to himself, his pride too stubborn to let him one-up him.
Next was Liu Zhenhai, the disciple many considered the true prodigy of the group.
After a moment of focusing his strength, he too began to outmaneuver his shadow, his blows growing more precise, his Qi more controlled.
One by one, the disciples began to regain their footing, though the fact that Su Xiaobai had done it first left a bitter taste in their mouths.
Meanwhile, Su Xiaobai, now completely ignoring the struggles behind him, was inspecting the altar.
His eyes gleamed with curiosity as he noticed a small switch in the stone, a lever barely visible beneath the intricate carvings.
But something else caught his attention—a tiny key, tucked neatly in a hidden groove.
His heart skipped a beat. 'A key? Here? It must be important!' Without a second thought, he sneakily slipped it into his spatial ring, hoping no one had noticed.
He turned to glance at Liu Zhenhai and the others, his lips curling into a mocking smile.
'Let's see how they like this.' With a swift motion, he pulled the lever.
CRASH!
A thunderous sound echoed through the chamber. On the far side of the altar, a massive stone door began to rumble open. Without so much as a glance back, Su Xiaobai darted toward it, slipping through the opening before anyone could react.
"??" Wang Fei and Chen Yong exchanged bewildered looks, their eyes widening in disbelief.
"He's going to steal our treasures!" Wang Fei sputtered, turning toward Elder Bai, desperation in his voice.
But Elder Bai, who had been standing off to the side with an air of disinterest, simply snorted.
Her sharp gaze flicked over to the panicking disciples. "If you want the treasures, go and claim them yourself. Rely on your strength, not your complaints." She said icily. "Your punishment for such a pitiful performance is twenty-five lashes each."
"..." Wang Fei's mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Chen Yong was equally speechless.
Elder Bai had made it clear—if they couldn't keep up, they didn't deserve anything.
After all, she hadn't come here for treasure.
Her only concern was training Liu Zhenhai.
The traps in this cave were far too simple to be guarding anything truly valuable.
An illusion formation, followed by a puppet formation—it was almost laughable.
If things continued as expected, the next stage would likely hold another formation, hardly a challenge for someone of her caliber.
But the disciples were on their own now, and Su Xiaobai had just raced ahead. Whether they liked it or not, they had to catch up—or be left behind, empty-handed.